Compulsive behavior of too much of eating is a serious eating disorder whereby you have a powerful addiction to food. Similar to all other addictions, when you suffer from compulsive overeating, you constantly crave for food even though you do not require to consume all that much. You end up stuffing yourself and not realising that you should stop as you are already full.
Compulsive overeating is often confused with binge eating, which is a similar, but more serious eating disorder. Binge eating is also characterized by uncontrollable acts of overeating. However, binge eating has a more emotional and psychological impact compared to compulsive overeating.
One major difference is if you suffer from compulsive overeating, you generally feel joyful after a meal. You feel that your craving is satisfied although you may have exaggerated the amount that you ate. However, if you suffer from binge eating, you do not feel joyful after the meal but a sense of guilt, depression and disgust that you have not been able to control yourself with regards to the portions that you ate.
As depression is largely absent in the case of compulsive eating, it is considered less dangerous than binge eating, since it has a reduced chance of turning into bulimia. However, compulsive overeating can gradually turn into a binge eating disorder if you become affected emotionally and psychologically about your body shape and weight.
The causes for both forms of eating disorders are similar, however, Both are emotional or psychological in nature. Just like smoking, it is not the body that craves the cigarette, but the mind.
In the case of compulsive overeating, you may eat because you are feeling stressed or depressed over some problems. The danger is when this habit turns into an addiction that you find that you have no control over.
At the first sign of compulsive overeating, you should get yourself treated. Do not wait till it increase to binge eating before you take action. Afterwards, you will get a bigger problem to manage and it may take a long recovery duration.